Opening statements set to begin Tupac Shakur shooting trial

Aug. 17 (UPI) — Opening statements were set to begin Monday in Las Vegas in the murder trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who is accused of fatally shooting rapper Tupac Shakur nearly 30 years ago.

Davis was arrested in September 2023, charged with murder with the use of a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or blockist a criminal gang. Prosecutors accused Davis is supplying the weapon used by the South Side Crips gang to shoot Shakur in a drive-by shooting on Sept. 7, 1996. The hip-hop artist died six days later.

Davis pleaded not guilty to the charges.

ABC News reported the opening statements were scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. at the Clark County courthouse in Nevada.

Monday’s proceedings are expected to begin first with the prosecution’s opening statement, KSNV-TV in Las Vegas reported. Davis’ attorney, Michael Sanft, will then either choose to present his own opening statement or wait until after the prosecution rests its case.

The trial formally began last week with jury selection. Prosecutors also released an official witness list that included more than 200 names. Among them are Marion “Suge” Knight, the co-founder of Death Row Records, with which Shakur had a contract. Knight was in the vehicle with Shakur the night he was shot. Knight was also injured in the shooting.

Knight, 61, who is serving a 28-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter in an unrelated case, said he won’t testify.

Also on the witness list was Kirk Burrowes, the president of Bad Boy Records. The record company was allegedly connected with the Crips gang in New York City, while Death Row Records was allegedly blockociated with the Bloods gang in Los Angeles.

Rapper Biggie Smalls — also known as the Notorious B.I.G. — was signed with Bad Boy Records. He was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles about six months after Shakur’s death.

Burrowes has accused rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs of orchestrating Shakur’s shooting. Combs, who has denied this, is serving a 50-month prison sentence for two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.